A little pre-Thanksgiving reading: Checking in on the Jets

DOVE VALLEY — As most of you are probably getting ready for Thanksgiving — and hopefully some time off from work — it is business as usual here at Broncos headquarters. The team is on its normal schedule today and will also practice Thursday, though players might get out a little early to be able to spend the afternoon and evening with their families.

So in the meantime, let’s check out some links from the New York media about the Jets, who have become one of the NFL’s most hyped teams after knocking off the Patriots and Titans on consecutive weeks. Both of those games were on the road. Could Sunday’s game against Denver, who is coming off an embarassing home loss to the Raiders, be a trap for the Jets? Could they get caught up in their own hype? That’s certainly the feeling among some of the Denver reporters, who saw it perhaps contribute to what happened to the Broncos last week. Not sure if I agree, but I digress.

On to the links:

– From The New York Times, a story about how the Jets’ fast starts and strong finishes have been key factors in the team’s current 5-game win streak. The Jets have scored 78 points in the first quarter (2nd-best in the NFL) and have outscored opponents by 45 points in the opening 15 minutes. “It gives you a chance to gain momentum,” New York coach Eric Mangini said. “Especially when you’re playing on the road, you’re able to come out and score right away, quiet the crowd a little bit.”

– From the New York Daily News: The Jets are playing their best football since 1998. Surely you Bronco fans remember that team — the Broncos beat the Jets 23-10 in the AFC Championship game en route to their second Super Bowl title. There are plenty of comparisons between the 1998 + 2008 teams, starting with their “new old quarterbacks” — Vinny Testaverde and Brett Favre.

– From Newsday: The Jets’ offensive line is proud of its performance against the Titans. The Jets rushed for 192 yards and held the ball for more than 40 minutes — both stats a major tribute to the line.

– A column from Newsday’s Bob Glauber on how the simultaneous success of the Jets and the Giants has New York-area fans already talking about an all New York Super Bowl. Said Giants DE Justin Tuck: “We would love to play the Jets. That means we’d be in the Super Bowl. It would be a mega-event. But we can’t allow ourselves to think about it.” Check out page 2 of the column, where Glauber breaks down how the Jets and Giants would match up position by position.

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Nicki Jhabvala is a Broncos beat writer for The Denver Post. She was previously the digital news editor for sports. Before arriving in Denver, she spent five years at Sports Illustrated working primarily as its online NBA editor. She also spent two years as a home page editor at the New York Times.